Post Office & Restaurant - Chandler, Minnesota

Above is a real photo postcard sent from Chandler, Minnesota in 1909. The postcard is rather faded looking, but through a bit of Photoshopping, I was able to get a much better view (below) of the details.

click this photo to enlarge it more and see more details

Chandler is a small town in the southwestern corner of Minnesota, with a 2010 population of about 270. According to the City of Chandler website, Chandler grew rapidly in the first decade of the 20th century and there were 30 businesses in 1906.

J. M. Johnson, whose name appears on the left window, was the postmaster at the time of this photo. He is the man in in the front. The two men with the mail bags are his mail carriers and their carts. (source: email from Murray County Museum)

Below J. M. Johnson's name are advertisements for Northwest Thresher Engines and Separators, and Aermotor Windmill Pumps.

A blanket with flour advertising is on one of the mules in the center of the photo. Minnesota was the top flour producing state in the country, with 400 flour and grist mills in 1901. I believe the name on the blanket is Ethan Allen Flour, a product of Wells Flour Milling Co., Wells, Minnesota. An ad for this flour is shown in Northwestern Miller, and the Minnesota Historical Society has an excellent photo of Ethan Allen Flour advertising on a horse here.

The signs on the right window advertise Meals at all Hours, Hot coffee, Lunch, and Fresh Bread. A small Telephone Station sign is attached to the right side of the building.

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Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Here are two maximum cards featuring the Gettysburg Address stamp that was issued on November 19, 1948. The issue date was exactly 85 years from the date Abraham Lincoln made his most famous speech at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The first card shows the Lincoln Speech Memorial at Gettysburg. The second postcards has the text* of the speech.

November 19, 1863 was four and a half months after Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. November 19, 2013 is the sesquicentennial (150 years) anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.

Beginning with the now-iconic phrase "Four score and seven years ago," referring to the Declaration of Independence, written at the start of the American Revolution in 1776, Lincoln examined the founding principles of the United States in the context of the Civil War, and memorialized the sacrifices of those who gave their lives at Gettysburg and extolled virtues for the listeners (and the nation) to ensure the survival of America's representative democracy, that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (source: Wikipedia)

* There are five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address that are each named for the associated person who received it from Lincoln. The versions differ in their wording, punctuation, and structure. The Bliss copy, named for Colonel Alexander Bliss, has become the standard version of the text and the source for most facsimile reproductions of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. 

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Minnesota Centennial Showboat History

 

The original Minnesota Centennial Showboat, shown on these postcards, was operated by the University Theater on the Mississippi River during the summer. It was based on the river adjacent to the University's Minneapolis campus. Cast members were students at the University of Minnesota.

The showboat postcards often had performance schedules printed on the back. This is one with the 1962 schedule. That year, there were two plays, Rip Van Winkle and Merry Wives of Windsor. Performances were mainly in Minneapolis, but also included some in St. Paul. In other years, performances also took place at other river towns such as Red Wing, Winona, and Stillwater.

The postcard below shows an interior scene with the 1961 Bloomer Girl production.

The Minnesota Centennial Showboat was originally a 175-foot (53 m)-long paddlewheeler, the General John Newton, commissioned in 1899. In 1958, the Minnesota State Centennial year,  the boat was purchased by the University of Minnesota for $1 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was renamed and transformed into the Minnesota Centennial Showboat. The Showboat closed for major repairs in 1993. In 2000, it was destroyed by a fire caused by an errant welding spark.

In 2001 construction of a new showboat began. In  2002 the new Minnesota Centennial Showboat arrived at its new docking site at Harriet Island across from downtown St. Paul in April. It opened with a play on July 4.

This video is the Minnesota Centennial Showboat 50th Anniversary Documentary.

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World Post Day

 

World Post Day is October 9, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874. It was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress in 1969. The purpose of World Post Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and its contribution to the social and economic development of countries.

I celebrated by sending out some Postcrossing cards (I think that was only the second time I have sent any Postcrossing cards this year) and modifying one of my vintage postcards to make a World Post Day card. The modified postcard is shown above and the original is shown below.

Puget Sound Navy Yard

 

Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington  was established in 1891. It was the first dry dock and repair facility in the northwestern United States capable of handling the largest ships. The postcard above shows the second dry dock at the facility, completed in 1913, with three boats undergoing repair. This dry dock was made of granite and concrete. It was 827 feet long, 145 feet wide, and 38 feet deep.

The next postcard shows a view from the water front of  the Navy Yard and dry dock.

The first two postcards are 1913 views. The third postcard is from a few years earlier, circa 1910. I am not sure whether that is the first or second dry dock. Although the second dry dock was not completed until 1913, ground was broken for it in 1909.

Puget Sound Navy Yard was not strategically located to serve as a repair facility for a war in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1916 the mission of Puget Sound Navy Yard was changed from overhaul and repair work to the construction of new warships. During World War I this Navy Yard built 25 submarine chasers, six submarines, two mine sweepers, seven seagoing tugboats, and two ammunition ships as well as 1,700 small boats.

The Puget Sound Naval Yard has served various roles since then. Today, it is the largest and most diverse shipyard on the West Coast and one of Washington state’s largest industrial complexes.

Source: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, HistoryLink.org Essay 5579

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Frimerkets Dag 1986

 

This postcard shows the souvenir sheet issued for Norway's Stamp Day (Frimerkets Dag) on  October 17, 1986. The subject is Norwegian Working Life (Labor) II - The paper industry.

The purpose of Stamp Day is to promote the use of stamps and stamp collecting. In Norway Stamp Day was first held in 1970. At first Norway's Stamp Day was the Friday closest to 9 October "World Post Day."  Different countries celebrate Stamp Day on different dates, usually in October or November. Even within the same country, the date varies. The 2013 Norwegian Stamp Day was October 4.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Photographs -- Powerful or Not

 

 

Above is a 1947 postcard advertising Filmet photo processing of Pittsburgh. A photograph of power lines is pictured on the postcard  and the message proclaims "There's POWER in Photographs!" Filmet was founded in 1910, and according to their website "Filmet remains committed to providing its customers with the quality they have come to expect."

Even with a powerful or spectacular subject, some photographs turn out poorly. I think the next image is one of my uncle's visit to of the Grand Canyon circa 1950-51. The same album of prints from Foto Finishers, Inc. of Chicago has a better image of him standing on a rock at the edge.

The envelopes used to return processed prints often contained tips about the source of photo problems and how to correct them in the future. This example is from Lane Photo Service, also in Chicago, and is dated 1949.

Fast forward to today when we don't have to worry so much about lousy photos. With digital cameras, we can take large numbers of photos at little or no cost. We can inspect them right away, keep the best, and make them better with photo editing software. Here is a digital photo of the power lines on my street that I took this week. It is a view looking toward downtown Minneapolis, with some of the tall downtown buildings barely visible between the poles on the left.

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